Supreme Court seeks CBI, ED response on plea for independent probe into alleged bank fraud by Anil Ambani companies

Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Prashant Bhushan contended that the First Information Report (FIR) in the matter was registered this year, despite the alleged fraud having been ongoing since 2007-2008.

Bhushan said, “We want a status report from ED and CBI on what they are investigating, because clearly they are not probing the collusion by the banks”.

The plea stated that the investigation into the matter should not be limited to the 2025 FIR and related investigations by ED, but must also include all grave offences revealed in various reports and documents available in the public domain.

“The investigating agencies, in the present matter, have overlooked the five-year delay in filing the FIR by the bank, which clearly indicates involvement of bank officials and other public servants whose conduct enabled, concealed, or facilitated the fraud,” the plea said.

“Despite being in possession of the 2020 Forensic Audit Report, based on which the complaint was filed which contains detailed issues regarding diversion, evergreening, fictitious transactions, and use of shell entities, the bank chose to take no statutory action until August 2025, a delay that cannot be explained without examining whether officers acted in collusion or with deliberate intent to shield the borrower group,” it said.

“The CBI and ED, however, have entirely failed to investigate this institutional angle, thereby excluding from scrutiny the very public officials whose complicity or willful inaction forms an essential part of the criminal conspiracy,” the plea added.